Just Another Day In The Life
by ShadoeKylie
Summary: Another day, another monster. You just can't win in Perfection Valley!
1. Part 1

**Just Another Day In The Life**  
**By Shadoe Masters**

This is Story 5 of "The Great Burt Baiting Saga." These stories center on the characters from Tremors: The Series, and feature Burt, Tyler, and all the gang from Perfection Valley. There are also original characters of my own creation - just so you're warned ahead of time. But please don't let that scare you off. I hope you enjoy them. 

While this story is a romance, the people involved are not the most cooperative people in the coupling department. The romantic elements take time to unfold. 

Feedback: Please let me know what you think of each story. I love feedback, both good and bad, and the more detailed the better. 

Disclaimer: "Tremors" is not owned by me or my affiliates, but by Stampede Entertainment, Universal Studios, and their affiliates. No copyright infringement is intended - just some good, clean (well, mostly) fun! 

E-mail: 

Thanks to my beta readers: LadyNRA & the gang at work 

**Just Another Day In The Life**  
**Part 1**

Perfection, Nevada, 7/2/2003 

Burt's alarm sounded at 0500 hours and he woke. The safe room door slid soundlessly aside at his approach and he walked into the main room of his bunker, only to stop dead at the sight of Kylie. 

She was perched on the pile of ammo boxes stacked to the front of the stairs. Her knees were spread wide to accommodate his Barrett .50, which lay cradled in her arms, propped against one thigh. His eyes followed her hand as it stroked the barrel gently, up and down, up and down... As he approached, she glanced at him through half-closed lids and a slow, seductive smile curved her lips. She wore camouflage trousers that encased her legs like a second skin, combat boots, and a "Burt Gummer Survival School" t-shirt that was tight enough to highlight her aroused nipples through the fabric. 

He went to her and pulled her into his arms, kissing her thoroughly. His tongue thrust deep into her mouth, savoring the feel of her tongue sliding against his. She tasted sweet, as he knew she would. He pressed himself against her, reveling in every curve of her lithe little body against his. One hand caressed her breast. He felt her hands busy at his crotch, then she wrapped her fingers around him and he could feel her stroking him, gently at first, then harder and faster. 

He laid her urgently on the floor, her legs wrapping around his hips, as he thrust into her at last. She cried out his name. "Burt! Oh Burt..." 

He woke. 

"Burt! Burt, wake up! It's Kylie! Are you going to let me in? I'm not _that_ late! Burt!" 

Kylie's voice came through the radio on the table next to him. 

He sprung out of the bed and hurried to the door, rubbing his face and trying to get other parts of his anatomy under control. He paused at the stairs to take a deep breath and compose himself, then took the stairs two at a time. He opened the door and glared at her. "You're late." 

"You were still asleep?" she asked, surprised. 

"Fell asleep waiting," he grumbled. 

"And don't you wake up grouchy," she commented, pushing past him to come in. 

"What's that you've got?" Burt asked suspiciously, closing the door. 

"It's a plant, Burt," Kylie replied, stating the obvious. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked around the room. 

"I can see that," Burt said, annoyed. He followed her and stood towering over her on the last step. "What's it for?" 

She stopped her survey of the room to look up at him. "I told you I'd bring you a plant." She turned and started looking for a suitable place for it. 

Burt pushed past her. "And I told _you_ I don't need a plant," he said. "I don't _want_ a plant. 

Kylie hardly paused in her perusal of the bunker's main room. "It'll cheer the place up, Burt," she said absently. "Keep you from being cranky all the time." She smiled at a likely spot and walked across the room to the table where Burt usually ate the few meals he prepared in the bunker. She set the plant on the table and stood back to consider the placement. 

Burt stomped after her. "I am not cranky!" he protested. 

Kylie turned to him, one eyebrow raised. She gave him the benefit of that look for a moment, then turned back to the plant. She picked it up and considered other options. "Maybe we could hang it from the ceiling..." she mused. Then she smiled up at him. "Fortunately, I am prepared!" She pulled a macramé plant hanger from the backpack she carried over one shoulder. 

Burt scowled. "I don't want anything hanging--" 

"It's all right, Burt," she said, patting him on the arm. "I didn't make it. Nancy did, so it's probably pretty sturdy." She went back to perusing the beams across the ceiling. 

"Kylie--" 

"Right there!" Kylie strode to the post in front of his easy chair and held the plant as high as she could toward the ceiling. She nodded in satisfaction, and turned around, surprised to find Burt towering over her less than two feet away. "I need a hook, Burt," she said. "Put it right there." She pointed up to the ceiling beam intersecting with the post and smiled. 

Burt crossed his arms. "No." 

She put her free hand on her hip. "Don't be that way, Burt." 

He just shook his head. "I told you I didn't want a plant." 

Kylie just stared impatiently at him, her hand on her hip. 

"It will die down here," he pointed out. "There's no sunlight." 

Kylie smiled and straightened. Smugly, she pointed to the new light that stretched over his workbench. "Fluorescent," she informed him. "It'll do just fine." 

He shook his head. "That won't work." 

"Of course it will." 

"Kylie," he sighed, "this is not a 'plant' kind of room. I don't want plants cluttering up my workroom. And--" 

Kylie sighed and set the plant and its hanger on the table next to her. "Okay, where do you keep the hooks? I'll just have to do it myself." She went around to the other side of the workbench and started pawing through the supplies on top and opening the myriad little drawers Burt had set up there. "I know you've got one around here somewhere." She puzzled over a mysteriously-shaped bit of metal, then put it down and glanced at him. "You've sure got everything else." 

Burt followed her, frustrated at her refusal to understand the one salient point he was trying to make. "Kylie, I don't want a plant cluttering up my workroom! It will just die." She barely glanced at him as she continued going through his clutter. "I won't water it," he threatened. 

She stopped so suddenly he had to backpedal a bit to keep from colliding into her. She put both hands on her hips and glared up at him. "Burt. You know I'll come out here and water it when it needs it. I wouldn't rely on you to worry about a plant. We _have_ met, you know. It's not going to be 'cluttering up your workroom' because it will be up _there_--" she pointed to the ceiling "--completely out of your way. And plants produce oxygen, so it will be performing a valuable task. Plants are not slackers, you know. Give you some real air to breathe instead of this recycled stuff you've got now. And the fluorescent light will work just fine, trust me." 

"But--" 

"_And_," she continued, cutting him off, "if it dies, I will call a town meeting and tell everyone I was wrong and you were right, as always, and I will never argue with you again! _Now will you just get the damned hook already!_" 

He continued glaring down at her a moment more before her full speech registered. He moved his mouth around, considering, then his brows rose skeptically. "_Never_ argue with me again?" 

"Not a word," Kylie assured him. 

Burt smiled. "_That's_ almost worth having a plant cluttering up the place." He walked over to his other bench, currently serving as his computer desk, dug around in a drawer for a moment, and came back with a screw-in hook. "Where did you want it?" he asked. 

She pointed to the far side of the beam, a smug grin on her face. As he affixed the hook to the beam overhead, she settled the pot in the hanger, then spun it around a few times, humming absently to herself. 

He finished and she handed him the plant. "You want me to hang it, _too_?" he asked sarcastically. "I thought _you_ were going to be taking care of it." 

She narrowed her eyes. "Funny. Just put it up there." 

He did. "How are you going to water it if you can't even reach it?" he wanted to know. 

She poked him in the ribs. "_You_ don't have to worry about that." 

He half-smiled. "I'll just set up the town meeting. In about a week?" 

She shook her head. "There will be no town meeting. That plant's going to be fine." 

He snorted. 

"Just remember," she said, pointing a finger in his face, "if you do anything to kill it, I'll know. That's cheating, and the deal's off." 

His chin went up, affronted. "I would never cheat." 

"Uh-huh." She turned, surveying the rest of the room. "Now... I'm thinking... a few throw rugs, maybe a pillow or something... Oh I know! A beanbag chair! In red!" 

He sputtered. 

She giggled, pushing against his arm. "I'm yanking your chain again, Burt." 

He glowered at her, disgusted. 

"Don't blame me," she said. "You're just so darn _easy_ to tease." 

"I still don't think--" 

"Yeah-yeah-yeah. Burt, you should know by now I'm not going to _violate_ your living space." His eyebrows crept up alarmingly, and she grinned. "Trust me, you'll come to _like_ the plant." 

"I don't--" 

"But what do you think?" Kylie asked enthusiastically. She backed away from him and pirouetted. 

He noticed what she was referring to immediately, and dropped the subject of the plant, as Kylie intended. "It looks good on you," he said. 

"You mean the gun, don't you?" Kylie asked. 

"What else?" he asked, puzzled. 

"My brand new outfit and stylish holster?" The puzzled look remained. "Of course I mean the gun," she conceded, shaking her head. It struck her again how different Burt was from other men. Another man would have noticed the way her jeans clung to her hips or the form-fitting top she wore--or rather, what they imagined was _under_ her jeans and top. Burt noticed only the brand new Kimber 1911 .45 he'd helped her pick out the week before. And maybe the way it fit in the holster she wore. Suddenly, she was a person instead of a sex object. A refreshing change, even though she wasn't quite sure how to behave under those circumstances. 

"It looks slightly unbalanced, though," he said. 

Kylie's disappointment showed. "You said I'd get used to the weight," she said uncertainly. 

"I think this will help," Burt said, taking something from the workbench drawer and handing it to her. "I picked up a few things in Bixby this weekend myself." 

She took it from him and smiled. "Thank you!" It was a Bushmaster knife, just like the one Burt wore, complete with a sheath that could slide on her holster. She quickly unbuckled the holster and slid it on, then strapped it to her leg. It fit perfectly. "Look!" She said, pirouetting again. "I'm Lara Croft!" 

Burt just leaned against the table, an indulgent half-grin on his face. 

"How did you get this to fit? All the ones we looked at were too big and hung down to my knees." 

"The blade's not quite as long as mine," Burt admitted. "Sam knew someone who fitted women's holsters, so I picked them both up there." 

"Oh how sweet," Kylie said, and before he could fend her off, she'd thrown her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, Burt," she continued, smiling up at him. 

She still had her hands on his shoulders, and Burt suddenly realized his hands were on her waist. He cleared his throat and took a step back, setting her away from him. "Did you clean the holster like I showed you? Tried the pull? You don't want the Kimber snagging on anything. It should--" 

"I can handle it, Burt," she said, smiling at him. "I had the best teacher in the state." 

Burt shrugged and mumbled something self-depreciating. 

"At least in the Valley, then," she said. 

He glared at her and she giggled. 

"Come on! Let's go--you're wasting the whole day!" She grabbed her backpack off the table and ran up the stairs, laughing. 

Burt gathered up his own gear and followed, trying to frown, but a grin worked its way to his lips in spite of himself. 


	2. Part 2

**Just Another Day In The Life**  
**Part 2**

Kylie looked through the binoculars again and frowned uncertainly. "I don't think I can hit anything that far away, Burt," she said. 

They were laying under some concealing brush, waiting for one of the bighorn sheep to appear on the rocks about thirty yards away. It was Kylie's first hunting trip and she was eager to prove to Burt that his painstaking lessons were getting results. 

"You were hitting targets that far away," Burt reminded her. 

"Well they didn't, you know, move around. What if I just wound it?" 

Burt surveyed the area. "I'll take care of it if you do," he assured her. "I could take that mountain lion over there." He nodded in the direction of the cat, sitting sentinel on the far side of the outcropping. He examined it through his .375 H&H Mag rifle's sight--it lined up square in the crosshairs. 

Kylie reached over and pushed the barrel away from the target. "You can't kill a kitty!" 

Burt heaved a sigh. "A mountain lion is a dangerous animal, not a 'kitty'." 

"Granted," Kylie said, "But _that_ mountain lion isn't dangerous to _you_. He's just sitting there not bothering anyone." 

"She," Burt pointed out. 

Kylie looked through the binoculars. "How can you tell?" 

"She has... she's... uh... nursing." 

Kylie gasped. "You'd kill a mommie?" 

Burt sighed again, exasperated. "I didn't say I _would_ shoot her, I said I could make the shot." 

"Oh." 

"You new-age types," Burt muttered. "Always worrying that someone might kill an animal, trying to ban hunting--" 

"Oh please, Burt," Kylie broke in. "I'm hardly a vegan, so you can stop lumping me in with the Nancys of the world, and am I or am I not here right now, hunting, even as we speak?" 

He grunted reluctant agreement. "Besides," she continued, "my particular brand of new-ageism happens to believe in the cycle of life and all that entails, including eating critters lower on the food chain, so you can just take my name off your anti-hunting rant if you don't mind." 

"All right, all right," he complained. "Don't get all wound-up." 

She giggled at his attempt at a conciliatory tone. "You started it, Burt." 

"I did not," he argued. "I'm simply saying--" 

"See? There you go again," she said smugly. His chin went up as it always did when he got indignant. Kylie smiled at him, nudging him with her shoulder. "Just picking on you Burt." She leaned her head briefly on his shoulder then smiled up at him, battin her eyelashes. "I still like you, even if you do burst into a rant at the least provocation." 

"I do not r--" 

"Yes you do," Kylie said. 

"No, I don't." 

"Do." 

"I don't--" 

She patted his hand, cutting him off. "How about that one?" 

Burt followed the direction of her gaze and spied two bighorn sheep at the top of the rock formation. "Yes," he murmured. "Aim for the closest one. Quietly, now. Don't spook him." 

Kylie took the rifle Burt handed her and chambered a round, then took careful aim. The sheep lined up, just like Burt taught her, in the crosshairs. 

"Take your time," Burt said softly. "Wait until you've got a good shot." 

Kylie kept aiming. 

The sheep posed majestically right at the crest of the rocks, as if waiting for her. It stood there, unmoving, apparently patient to stand there all day. 

Burt looked over at Kylie, then back to the sheep. He'd say the sheep made a perfect target. He knew her skills--she wouldn't miss. Still, she didn't fire. He looked back at her again. "You'll never get a better shot," he told her. 

Slowly, Kylie took the rifle away from her shoulder and handed it to Burt. She scooted back, carefully, from their position, then, without a word, stood and left, walking in the direction of Burt's power wagon. 

Burt stared after her, mystified. He shook his head, then carefully unloaded the weapon and gathered their things. He gave one last rueful look toward the bighorn sheep, still poised at the top of the rocks, and turned to follow Kylie to the truck. 

Kylie was sitting in the truck's passenger seat, her feet dangling over the side, the very picture of dejection. She didn't look up as Burt approached and stowed the gear in the back. She didn't look up even as he came to lean on the truck next to her. 

"You want to tell me what happened back there?" he asked, gently. 

Finally, she moved, to look off in the distance, then she shrugged. "I just couldn't do it," Kylie said at last. "It was right there, I knew I could make the shot. I just couldn't... kill it." She looked down at her lap again and heaved a sigh. "I guess I don't have a useful skill after all." 

Burt patted her shoulder. He didn't know what to say. 

She looked up at him. "How am I supposed to defend myself if I don't have the nerve to shoot the bad things?" 

His hand tightened reassuringly on her shoulder. "That was a sheep, hardly one of the 'bad things'. When you need it, you'll find the nerve," he assured her. 

Kylie just looked down at her hands again, sighing miserably. 

Burt considered her, uncomfortable. He never knew what to say or do in these situations. It seemed best to just... move on to something else. "Well, no need to waste the day," he said heartily, straightening. "Let's have an early lunch and I can teach you how to kill graboids." 

She looked at him sardonically. "Am I going to have to shoot one?" she asked. "As I think we've recently established, I'm out there." 

Burt shook his head. "No guns," he assured her. "We'll use the Basset Method." 

She watched him go around the truck and get in as she swiveled in her seat and closed the door. "We're going to use dogs?" 

They stopped briefly at Burt's bunker to exchange supplies, and Burt brought out a large, heavy, green metal ammo box and some bulky items wrapped in a tarp. Then they rode for the far side of the valley. 

The trail Burt followed hugged the cliffs at the northeast tip of the valley. It had started on the flat of the valley then gradually worked its way up to a narrow track that wound its way upward, hugging the side of the cliffs. Kylie looked up nervously at the tons of rock that towered over the truck on her side, as anxious about them as the drop on Burt's side of the truck. 

"I'm never going to be too comfortable being this close to a cliff again, Burt," she commented. 

"I've surveyed most of the valley by now," he told her. "There's no degradation of the rock here." 

"Still..." she began uncertainly. 

They turned into a curve of the mountain and drove past some scrub brush then pulled into an almost forest-like area covered in green and growing things. Kylie forgot her worries in the charm of it. "Burt..." she said, her voice full of wonder. "Did you make this?" 

He shook his head and got out of the truck. "It's natural," he said. 

Kylie got out of the truck too. "But how? I haven't seen anything else like this in the desert." 

"Let me show you," he said. His voice sounded almost as eager as it did when he was showing off one of his guns. 

He pushed through some tall bushes at the right of the clearing they'd parked in to a trail that wound downward through the greenery. The clearing and this trail showed signs of recent and fairly frequent use. Kylie bet herself that this was another one of Burt's secret places he went to hide. She felt privileged to be one of probably less than a handful of people who'd ever been invited to any of them. She smiled. 

The trail led to a smaller clearing and, wonder of wonders, even more surprises. "A lake?" Kylie cried. 

Burt smiled, looking just as proud as if he'd come up with the concept himself. "More of a pond," he announced. "Runoff, mostly. Comes from the mountains and down through that pass up there." 

Kylie looked up where he pointed to a sort of notch in the rocks where water flowed out, winding down a series of gentle waterfalls until it got lost in the greenery surrounding the miniature lake. At the far side of the lake was the last waterfall, where water trickled into basin there and pooled into the shallow lake. 

"It disappears in the summer," he said, "but winter runoff fills in the natural depression here and we have an oasis, of sorts." 

"This is beautiful!" Kylie announced, going to the edge of the water and dipping a hand in. The water was warm and clear. She looked up and gave him one of her sweetest smiles. "Thank you so much for bringing me here." 

Burt shuffled his feet and looked away. "Thought you'd like it," he said roughly. 

Kylie's smile turned to a grin. She knew Burt wouldn't appreciate her knowing that he'd gone out of his way to cheer her up, so she didn't say it out loud, but she filed it away in her memory of the growing list of thoughtful things he'd done for her anyway. 

She turned her attention to the water again searched her mind for a way to change the subject. "There aren't any creepy-crawlies in here, are there?" she asked. 

"Negative," Burt said, on safer ground again. "The bottom's mostly rock and it's not here long enough to grow much in the way of wildlife. It just supports the plant life here in this area. Everything turns brown by July." He turned and gestured toward another trail leading off to the left. "Let me show you the rest." 

"There's more?" Kylie stood and followed him, giving one last, speculative look at the pond before pushing her way into the bushes after Burt. 

This trail led to the other side of the clearing where the truck was parked, then down a gentle slope to the valley floor. Up a slight incline toward the truck was another cliff that dropped off sharply about 20 feet. Kylie kept her distance from there. 

"You sure like to play king of the hill, don't you?" Kylie asked. 

He turned to her. "What do you mean?" 

"Everywhere we go, you're at the highest possible position. Even your bunker overlooks the rest of the Valley." 

Burt's chin went up. "Nothing wrong with choosing a strategic site." 

Kylie just grinned impishly at him. 

"How about an early lunch," Burt suggested, "and then I'll show you the Basset Method." 

"Great," Kylie said, walking with him to the truck. "You promise this doesn't involve feeding dogs to El Blanco, right?" 

"No dogs," he assured her. 


	3. Part 3

**Just Another Day In The Life**  
**Part 3**

Kylie sighed and shook her head at Burt again. Over lunch Burt had explained that the "Basset Method" was named after Earl Basset, one of the survivors of the original graboid incursion of 1989, rather than the Basset Hound. Somehow, it involved toy trucks, which were the items he'd brought wrapped in the tarp, and C-4, which he'd brought in the ammo box. Interesting as that lesson had been, it didn't surprise her as much as what had happened after they'd finished eating. 

When Kylie laid back to rest her head on her backpack and continue their discussion from a more comfortable position, Burt had rolled up his own bag and laid on it. She hadn't thought much of it until, after she'd made some particularly provoking comment about the Old West, Burt hadn't replied. She'd rolled over and looked at him for some kind of reaction just in time to hear a snore. 

She rested her head on her arm, watching him. Burt just didn't seem the type of man who could fall asleep at the drop of a hat. And certainly not out here in the open, when there were people around. She knew she could fall asleep standing up in a terminal at LAX, but Burt? He must be working harder than she thought. Maybe all the time he'd spent with her lately had interrupted his usual, top secret work and he had to stay up all night trying to catch up. 

This, of course, brought her to wondering what kind of top secret projects Burt had that were too secret to tell her about. Considering the little she knew of him, it could be anything. Definitely some kind of improved shrieker defense system, or some kind of assblaster radar... 

She closed her eyes, letting her mind wander over what kind of projects Burt could be involved in, going down ever more improbable paths, when a thought suddenly struck her and her eyes flew open. 

It was hot. 

There was water. 

She should be in it. 

Eyeing Burt warily, she got to her feet and went to the closest path. 

Kylie just floated, arms outstretched, letting her legs rise or sink with whatever current the occasional breeze stirred up. She let both mind and body relax as the sun beat down on her closed eyes. The water felt so good against her skin. She'd come to love the desert in the last two months, but something about immersing her whole body in water always renewed her spirit. She smiled, and let herself sink below the surface again, imagining the whole world away and she was all that was left... 

Suddenly, she felt something wrap around her leg. She fought her way to the surface, screaming, pulling against the tentacle of whatever creature had her leg. She thought she got away, but it grabbed for her again. Remembering she'd kept her knife with her, she pulled it from the sheath on her leg and slashed at the underwater beast. She hacked at it two more times and it let go, floating limply to the surface. She hastily backed away, splashing water at the creature to move it away from her. 

Then she got a good look at it. 

"Ah, the vicious clinging vine, we meet again." She giggled and picked it up with her free hand. 

"_What the hell are you doing?_" Burt shouted from the shore. 

She whirled, then hastily sank back into the water when she realized that she wasn't quite at the deepest part of the pond. 

Burt stood, watchful, with the Eagle in his hand, scanning the area for a target. 

"Uh..." Kylie looked around for inspiration. "Swimming?" 

Burt was still on alert, looking for the threat. "Why did you scream?" he demanded. 

Kylie held up the vine, laughing. "It's okay, I killed it." Then she held up the knife with her other hand. "Good thing I brought my knife. Looks like a tough little monster." She laughed again. 

He didn't. "Well get out of there," he said, holstering the Eagle reluctantly. 

"Do I have to?" she asked, hesitant. 

"Yes," he answered emphatically, still searching for danger. 

"O-kay," she said and started for shore. 

Burt looked up as Kylie started splashing toward him and caught a glimpse of her just as the water uncovered her breasts. He turned hastily. Now he had an accurate visual for those dreams he kept having. "Where the hell are your clothes?" he demanded over his shoulder. 

"Over there," she said. 

"Over--" He almost turned to see where she was pointing, but realized his mistake and snapped his face forward. 

"You don't think I'd want to get my clothes all wet, do you?" 

He heard her splashing stop and knew she was out of the water. He listened to the water dropping from her and got a clear mental image of the water sluicing off her naked body to the ground. He held himself rigidly, looking away. "You shouldn't have gone in the water," he said tightly. 

"But it was hot, Burt," she complained. 

Her voice came from directly behind him. If he turned, he'd be able to touch her. All of her. He closed his eyes, swallowing. "Will you get your clothes on?" he demanded. 

"They're right _there_ Burt. Do you want me to go get them?" 

He saw her hand appear beside him, pointing to a bush at the edge of the clearing. They hung there, almost artistically. He noticed her underwear was red this time. Perfect, he thought, another visual for those dreams. "At least they're off the ground," he grumbled, trying to remain coherent. "You haven't forgotten _everything_ I taught you." 

"O-kay," she said. "I'll just be getting my clothes then..." she started moving around him. 

He fled, the sound of her laughter following him back to the clearing. Exasperating woman! 

He heard her moving through the bushes and determinedly turned away. He was afraid of what she would be wearing--or _not_ wearing. 

"It's okay, Burt, I'm covered," she said. He could hear the laughter in her voice. 

He turned slowly, to find that she was dressed, lacking only her boots. Her toenails were painted green, he noticed. She sat down, taking her comb out of her backpack, and started combing her hair. 

"Next time," she said, "I'm bringing a towel." 

"There won't _be_ a next time," Burt insisted. "What a harebrained thing to do! This is Perfection! Anything could have happened." 

"But Burt," she said, her voice full of exaggerated innocence. "You told me it was safe." 

He stared at her--he had told her that. "But I didn't mean--" 

"Besides," she continued, "I had my knife." She patted the holster with the knife he'd given her attached. 

He frowned at her, puzzled. "You wore your gun?" 

She actually stuck her tongue out at him. "No, silly. Just the part with the knife." She demonstrated sliding off the gun holster from the belt. 

This conjured a mental image of her wearing nothing but the belt with the knife strapped to her leg. He resolutely put it out of his mind. He was in for another sleepless night, he knew. "I still cannot believe you went swimming in a body of water you knew nothing about." 

"You said it was safe, Burt." 

"Be that as it may, you should learn to be more aware of your surroundings. Anything could have happened. You need to be constantly on your guard--" 

"_You_ were asleep," she pointed out. 

An expression of pure chagrin settled over his face. 

She laughed. "Score one for me." He opened his mouth to protest, but she held up a hand. "I promise I won't go swimming there again." 

He nodded. "That's--" 

"Unless you're there to guard me," she continued with an impish grin. 

He gave her That Look again. 

"I'll bring a suit next time," she promised. 

He continued to glare at her. 

"You can bring one too," she assured him. 


	4. Part 4

**Just Another Day In The Life**  
**Part 4**

"You have to go faster," Burt instructed. "You want it to bounce for maximum vibration. Catch up with me." 

Burt and Kylie sat at the top of the slope on the eastern side of their oasis, joysticks to Burt's radio-controlled trucks in hand. Kylie was learning the Basset Method. 

Kylie nudged her joystick forward more, and her red truck passed Burt's blue one. "Ha!" 

"This isn't a race," Burt said, but he nudged his own joystick forward a bit. 

"Oh yeah? I bet I can beat you to that rock and back." She smiled wickedly and pushed her joystick forward, glancing at Burt for reaction. 

He smiled grimly and plunged after her and soon the two trucks were neck-and-neck. They rounded the rock, Kylie's on the inside track and gaining ground. As the trucks started up the hill, Kylie had a clear lead. Burt's truck swerved around a clump of weeds, losing more ground, and Kylie crowed in triumph. Burt shot her a glance, but continued to maneuver his truck around obstacles, gaining on her. Then Kylie's truck hit a rock and almost flipped to it's side. 

"No-no-nononono!" Kylie whined, steering into the turn. The little truck righted itself, but Kylie lost her lead by several feet, as Burt's truck shot up the hill toward her. She glanced at Burt. 

Burt grinned at her smugly. His truck passed the finish line and turned around to start back down the hill. As the blue truck passed Kylie's, hers changed direction and swerved suddenly, crashing into his and nearly toppling it. Burt maneuvered quickly and managed to get the truck back on two wheels, then Burt turned narrowed eyes on Kylie. 

She smiled innocently, not deigning to look at him. Her truck, meanwhile, continued down the hill. 

Burt's sped after it. 

Kylie shot him a glance. "Oh no you don't!" She urged her truck faster. 

"Oh yes," Burt corrected, overtaking her truck. His blue truck pulled alongside her red one. Suddenly the blue swerved into the red, sending it careening almost to the edge of the trail. 

Kylie growled and compensated, then dove after his down the trail. Her truck caught his, slamming into the side. 

He swerved, crashing into hers, and they continued down the trail, slamming into each other, each trying for the upper hand. 

The trail curved around a large boulder at the bottom and the two scrambled to their feet to run down the trail after the trucks before losing sight of them. 

Just as they reached the boulder, they heard the sound of the trucks crashing noisily into something. They looked at each other, both snapping their joysticks to the neutral position. 

"Oops," Kylie said. 

They hurried around the boulder, then skidded to a halt. 

"Eeew!" Kylie said, backing away. 

Burt scanned the area, then dropped to one knee. "Looks like a mountain lion," he said, examining the remains. 

"Looks like it _was_ a mountain lion. Looks like it's been there a while," Kylie added, her face a mask of disgust. 

Burt shook his head. "This is fresh." 

"But it's all... shriveled." 

Burt nodded. "Like everything inside has been sucked out." He looked around. 

Kylie shuddered and scanned the area apprehensively. 

Burt stood and stepped around the dead feline, and continued around the boulder. 

Kylie followed reluctantly. "Burt," she whispered, "shouldn't we--" 

Suddenly Burt halted and Kylie slammed into him. His left arm went out to steady her automatically and she wrapped an arm around it, peering around him to see why he stopped. 

About ten feet away was another mountain lion, shrunken like the other. This one wasn't quite dead. 

Hunched over it was some kind of giant worm. Black and white stripes ran lengthwise along the segmented body, with a dozen legs underneath it, and some kind of tube sticking out of the front and into the cougar's mouth. It seemed to be pumping something into--or out of--the animal. 

Kylie screamed. 

The creature noticed them then. It dropped the mountain lion. The long, white tube slid out of the cat and back into the worm's body, then it reared up, towering above them, its first six legs pawing the air. It gave off a kind of weird rippling shriek that made their ears ring. 

It darted at them, and shot a stream of a green slime. Burt threw them both to the side, against the boulder, and used it for cover. The slime that hit the boulder sizzled. One drop spattered on Burt's face and left an angry welt. As the creature darted toward where they had been, lightning fast, Burt pulled his Desert Eagle and fired off a shot. 

The creature jerked, its mouth open in that eerie undulating scream, then reared back again. It spun, swiping twice at Burt with a horn protruding from the end of its tail. 

Burt ducked back, out of range, shielding Kylie with his body. He fired off another shot and the beast screamed and ran, impossibly fast, legs and segments churning as is covered open ground. Gun held high, Burt took off in pursuit. 

"Burt!" Kylie wailed, but ran after him. 

They trailed the beast to the opening of a cave. Hiding on their bellies behind an incline, Burt surveyed the situation. 

"Must be six of them," he said. "Maybe more inside." 

"Seven," Kylie corrected, pointing. "There's another one coming. Over there." 

Burt added this one to his tally. The new one joined the one they'd chased. The group continued rooting at the ground in front of the cave. The other five climbed over and around each other, seemingly without a purpose. 

"Look!" Kylie pointed. 

Burt saw a pile of desiccated carcasses several yards from the cave. "They must bring at least some of their kills here. Perhaps for their young." 

"Eeew. What kind of worms are those?" Kylie asked, her lips curled in revulsion. 

"Not worms," Burt pointed out. "Caterpillars, more likely." 

"Caterpillars?" Kylie said. "Don't those turn into--" 

Burt nodded. "Moths or butterflies. Most likely a moth, I would think." His eyes scanned the air above the cave. "I haven't seen any yet, but that doesn't mean they're not around. Normal moths are nocturnal." 

"These aren't normal caterpillars, are they?" Kylie asked hesitantly. "I mean, they don't just make them bigger around here, right?" 

Burt shook his head. "Mixmaster, in all likelihood." He watched a moment more, then started to scramble down the hill. "Come on," he said. 

Kylie scrambled after him. 

"Come in Tyler, this is Burt. Over." 

Burt leaned against the truck, mic in hand, while Kylie scanned the surrounding hills and sky apprehensively. 

"Tyler, come in," he repeated. "This is Burt. Over." 

Nancy's voice came over the radio. "Burt, you got Nancy. Tyler's still in Bixby with Jodi." 

Burt's eyes rolled skyward. He checked his watch. "What's their return ETA? Over." 

"Probably not until late tonight," Nancy's voice told him. "Is something wrong?" 

Burt's eyes turned toward Kylie, his gaze speculative. "Nothing we can't handle," he said. "Burt out." He tossed the mic into the truck and went to the back. "I guess we're on our own." 

Kylie followed him. "We?" 

She took the double handful of magazines Burt handed her and obediently distributed those through the pouches on her new holster. He held out the M16 she'd been training on and she looked at him blankly. 

"You'll need this," he said. 

Kylie looked at him uncertainly, but took the rifle. "I don't think I'm ready for this, Burt. You should wait for Tyler..." 

"No time," he told her shaking his head. He looked at the late afternoon sky. "Moths come out at dusk. No telling what they'll do." He patted her on the shoulder. "You'll be fine." 

"Hello? Earth to Burt Gummer! Remember? This is me, Kylie? Can't-shoot-the-bad-things-Girl." 

"You're all I've got, so you'll have to do." He stopped rummaging in the back of his truck to look at her briefly. "Besides," he continued, "all you'll have to do is follow along and reload if I need you to. There are only seven of them." He reached into the truck and selected own rifle from the ones he regularly carried, the HKG41. He propped that against the truck and reached in for more gear. "Here." 

She reached out and took the headlamp he handed her, similar to the one he was affixing to his hat. 

"You'll need it for the cave," he said, taking it from her and fastening it to her head. 

"Didn't know you had a spare," she said somewhat uncertainly. 

"Bought it last weekend," Burt muttered. 

"Always with the backup," Kylie said, attempting a smile. 

He nodded uncomfortably, his eyes on the lamp. "Ready?" he asked, finally looking her in the eye. 

She shrugged and tried to nod her head, but it came out more as a shake. 

"You'll do fine," he said, patting her shoulder awkwardly. "Just follow me, and stay out of my line of fire." 

"Stay out of the line of fire," she repeated. "I can do that..." 

Burt had brought the power wagon to the bottom of the hill near the cave. All they had to do was walk up the incline then down into the cave. Burt started up the hill. 

Kylie stared after him dubiously until he paused to turn and scowl at her ferociously. 

"I'm coming..." 

The cave entrance was deserted, raising Kylie's spirits marginally. "Maybe they all... left," she suggested. 

"They're probably inside," Burt said, patiently. "We'll check." 

"Fun..." 

Burt turned on his lamp as they entered the cave, then reached over to turn on Kylie's. There wasn't much to see at first. The floor was uneven and covered with loose gravel, as if it had been attacked by particularly industrious large moles. There were mounds of dirt in spaces between the holes. Burt led the way and Kylie followed. 

The cave was a large one, with plenty of room for the caterpillars and whatever they chose to drag in here. They went around a bend and the light from the entrance all but disappeared, leaving them in darkness save for the cones of light from their headlamps. The cave twisted twice more and they started hearing faint sounds of activity from ahead. 

Kylie's eyes struggled to pierce the darkness. She covered her headlamp with one hand. "Is that... light ahead?" 

Burt's light bobbed as he nodded his head. "It's faint, but yes." 

"Maybe we came to the other side," Kylie suggested hopefully. 

"Maybe," Burt admitted slowly. "We'll be careful until we know for sure." He didn't like the sounds he heard ahead. "Let's move over here." Burt turned off his own lamp as he herded Kylie toward the wall. She started fumbling for her light's switch until Burt turned it off for her. "Give your eyes a minute to adjust." 

"Stay close behind me," Burt said, as he started creeping toward the opening ahead where the light was coming from. He felt Kylie's hand touch his back, then slide down and finally hook into his belt. He paused only long enough to shake his head, then kept moving. 

They came to a halt behind some loose boulders just beyond the opening. The light came from several holes in the roof where rock had fallen in. "Unstable," Burt pointed out. "One good explosion could bring the rest of it down." Carefully, he rose up and peered over the boulders. He put a firm hand on Kylie's shoulder when she started to do likewise. When he was sure they wouldn't be seen, he let go and motioned her to look. 

She gasped when she first saw the scene. "There's way more than seven, Burt." 

The ground sloped down sharply at the opening to form a deep, high-ceilinged cavern. Writhing caterpillars of all sizes filled the middle of the cavern. One of the bigger caterpillars would select an animal from the pile at the side of the cavern, carry it to the young, then suck the insides out via the long proboscis. The creature would then insert this tube into the younger ones. 

"_Gross_," Kylie hissed. "What are they doing?" 

"Feeding, I think," Burt whispered back. 

They watched in horror as another animal, a bobcat this time, was selected from the pile and drained. 

"Kill them Burt," Kylie whispered, her face a mask of revulsion. "Kill all of them." 

Burt glanced at her, one eyebrow raised, then behind them and again toward the scene before them. He shook his head. "I don't have the ammo," he murmured. His eyes narrowed, his mouth moving side to side. "But I've got an idea." He turned. "We'll need to get back to the truck." 

He pulled her down and they crept away from the opening, back toward the entrance. 

The cave was a deep one, but they were maybe fifteen yards from the entrance before Kylie sensed movement to one side. "Burt!" she hissed, creeping up close behind him and pulling his sleeve. 

"I heard it," he whispered back. He turned to the right and his lamp shone on one of the giant beasts, just coming out of the ground. It had time to rear up and spit green slime at them once before Burt sidestepped, then pulled his rifle up, aimed, and fired. It's head burst and it fell forward with a thud. 

That brought the rest of them. Suddenly, they were coming, fast, from the depths of the cave. 

Burt emptied one clip into the first wave then passed his rifle back to Kylie. "Reload!" He took hers and met the next wave. But there were too many, and their brains were slow to react to the body's damage, so they just kept coming once they were shot. 

"Retreat!" Burt called. 

Kylie didn't waste time. 

They ran as fast as the uneven ground allowed, but two more of the creatures were just coming into the cave from the outside. Kylie skidded to a halt, her head going left and right, looking for an escape. Burt grabbed her arm and hauled her back, into a curving recess in the cave wall where they couldn't be seen. He spun her around to the back of the niche and pressed his body against hers, one hand pressing her head into his chest and the other reaching up to turn off his headlamp. "Shhh," he whispered, then turned off her lamp. Picking up his rifle, he turned, slowly, then peered around the corner to watch the animals ripple past the opening. 

They didn't seem to be able to find them, as he'd hoped. Probably relied on motion sensing and sensitive night vision, like a cat. 

They waited, but there seemed to be a constant surge of animals through the cave. He could barely make out the scene in the darkness. Some carried animals, the proboscis tube wrapped around the animal's neck. These hadn't been consumed yet--probably for the young larvae at the back of the cave. 

He reached a hand behind him to find Kylie in the darkness. She immediately took his hand and pressed herself against his back. He wished he had time to enjoy the sensation. 

He turned, bending down to whisper in her ear. "I think there's a pattern in their traffic. The ones inside the cave when we arrived have left and others have arrived. The flow is trickling off, though. There should be a lull soon. We'll make a run for it then." He wished he could see her face. Instead, he felt her hair slide across his lips as she nodded. "Make sure your rifle's loaded," he reminded her, then turned to check the creatures' progress. 

As he'd predicted, the flow had diminished. Just one of the caterpillars was in the cave and it was leaving. They'd never get a better chance. He turned back to Kylie. "Wait here," he whispered, "but be ready to run when I tell you." 

He started to creep out of the cave, but paused and took Kylie's hand. He brought it up to her headlamp. "Use this," he whispered, wrapping her fingers around the switch. He heard her soft "Heh" in the darkness and knew she wouldn't have thought of it on her own. 

He crept out of the cave, his eyes probing the darkness. From what he could see, the opening was clear. "Kylie!" He hissed. "Go." He heard her scramble out of the niche and start toward the entrance. He turned to watch where he thought she'd be until her headlamp switched on and started bobbing quickly toward the opening. 

By the time he turned back, it was almost upon him. 

He started firing even before his rifle's muzzle was trained on the creature. It went down, but Burt could hear more shuffling behind it. He kept firing. 

"Burt!" Kylie screamed. 

"I'm all right!" he shouted back when he paused firing. He glanced back long enough to see that her light had stopped moving and now pointed in his direction. "Keep going!" By the dim light of her headlamp, he could see six or seven of the creatures surging toward him. He fired a volley of shots then sped after Kylie. 

Burt caught up to her and they ran, dodging holes and rocks. She cleared one mound of dirt and landed halfway in one of the holes. Burt made a grab for her as she stumbled, but she still went down. She rolled, but her head slammed into another mound of dirt, hard enough for her to see stars. Her head fell back a moment and she worked at focusing her eyes on the walls of the cave. 

"Burt..." she said uncertainly. "What are those?" 

Burt followed the direction of Kylie's gaze and his eyes widened. There were hundreds of them; they covered the walls. He shot a glance behind them and grasped Kylie's wrist, pulling her to her feet. "They're eggs," he said. That meant there were definitely moths--somewhere. "We've got to get out of here." 

They ran. 


	5. Part 5

**Just Another Day In The Life**  
**Part 5**

They made it to the top of the hill before the pack of caterpillars erupted from the cave. They seemed slow and confused, unsure which direction their quarry had gone. Kylie dropped to the ground to keep watch as Burt went to the truck. 

"I've got just the thing," Burt announced, jumping in the back to dig through his supplies. "Keep them occupied while I set it up." 

"They spotted us, I think," Kylie called, turning to Burt uncertainly. "Some of them are coming this way." 

"Shoot any that get too close," Burt said, working quickly. 

"They're too close _now_," Kylie complained, getting to her feet and taking aim. 

"Then shoot!" 

Kylie fired. The lead caterpillar slowed down, and others nearby stopped to investigate. This didn't take long, however, and they continued toward the truck. She fired again, then twice more, then they started swarming toward her. "That was a great idea," she muttered. Kylie shot another one, which didn't stop it, and had to shoot it again. "Burt! she shouted. 

"Just a minute!" 

Kylie fired again. Then again. 

Burt glanced up. "Put it on full auto!" 

"You said I'm not ready for full auto yet!" she wailed. 

"You just graduated!" 

Kylie turned the selector and pulled the trigger. The muzzle flew up, but she dragged it down toward the caterpillars. 

"Hold on to it!" Burt shouted. 

"I'm trying!" she shot back, firing again. "There are too many of them! Burt, I can't do this!" She paused to pop out one magazine and shove another one in. 

"Yes, you can!" He insisted. "Just hold them off a few more minutes!" 

Kylie growled her frustration but kept firing. Even when four more of the creatures piled over their dead and rolled toward her, she kept firing. When the last of them were less than ten feet away and Kylie needed to reload, Burt took a stance in front of her and turned a dial on the flamethrower he'd finally assembled. 

Burt pulled the trigger and a burst of flame shot from the end of the tube, engulfing the creature. It reared up, screaming and writhing in agony, shooting burning green slime and flames in every direction. Burt dove at Kylie, knocking her to the ground and covering her body protectively with his own. The beast's fight didn't last long, though, and with a final stream of slime, it crashed to the ground. 

Burt sprang to his feet and reached down for Kylie. He kept her hand after helping her to her feet, and pulled her around the burning creature when she would have remained rooted in place, staring. 

"We need to hurry," Burt said, picking up the olive green backpack he'd dropped at his feet when he started the flamethrower. He helped her shrug into it then started toward the cave, pulling her along. "They might be due for another wave of traffic, and we want to be in and back out of the cave before they get here." 

"I could wait outside if it will speed things up..." 

"Negative," Burt began. "I'll need your help to plant some charges." 

"Charges?" Kylie echoed, almost running to keep up with Burt's much longer stride. 

"Explosives," Burt explained shortly. "C-4. They're in the pack you're wearing." 

"I'm wearing _bombs_?" Kylie squeaked. She tried to stop in her tracks, but Burt pulled her mercilessly along. "Burt! I'm gonna blow up here! Slow down!" 

He spared her one quick glance but didn't slow. "You won't blow up. I've got the detonators here." He indicated the pack he wore strapped to his waist. "We'll set charges at the entrance to the big cavern and a few more strategic locations to bury the young ones. I'll burn the eggs, then pick off the bigger ones as they return to base. I'll need you to guard my back while I do this." He glanced at Kylie again. "All right?" 

She nodded. "Sure, you know me. Always game for a good time..." She gave a fleeting glance over her shoulder to the backpack she wore. "Just tell me what to do and I'll..." They reached the cavern and Burt slowed at last, scanning for any activity inside before they entered. "...follow you into the gates of hell, apparently," Kylie finished on a whisper. "As long as _you_ lead the way." 

"Good girl!" Burt murmured. 

"Stay put and keep watch," Burt ordered in a whisper as he turned Kylie away from him and started digging in the backpack she wore. 

Kylie turned her head this way and that, panning the light from her headlamp in every possible direction a caterpillar creature could approach. She nervously fingered the M-16 that hung from her left shoulder and bounced against her hip. Burt's HKG41 rifle she held ready. They'd gotten to the back of the cave without being attacked, and she hoped their luck would hold long enough for them to get back out. 

She heard Burt cross the cave and fought the urge to follow. She wanted more than anything just then to sidle up next to him and let him hold her in his arms. but he'd told her to stay put, so she did. She made another quick scan of the cavern, then turned back to watch Burt. 

He tore off a piece of what looked like the clay Nancy used from the block he held and pressed it into a crevice in the rock wall. Then he took a dart-like implement and inserted it into the clay. After a quick glance around, he moved to a spot further along the wall and repeated the process. 

Kylie heard some rustling from behind her and spun, raising Burt's HKG41 to her shoulder. She aimed, pivoting at the waist to keep the rifle and the light from her headlamp aligned. When she found nothing moving, she shaded her light and crept to the cavern entrance to peer over the boulders concealing the activity below. 

When Burt and Kylie had reached this section of the cavern, the creatures were quiet, in an almost dormant stage. Burt suggested they might be in a sleep phase, or perhaps some kind of food coma like the assblasters went into. Whatever it was, it was at an end. The creatures were beginning to stir. 

"Burt!" she hissed. His light snapped toward her. "They're waking up!" His light bobbed as he nodded, then turned back to his work. 

Soon, he was coming toward her. He spun her around when he reached her and dug in her pack again. He got out what he needed and zipped it back up. She turned to him and watched as he broke the block of clay in two and molded both into round balls before he stuck a dart in each. "Watch how you handle the detonator," he said, indicating the dart, then handed her one of the balls. He took her arm and pulled her toward the cavern entrance. 

They turned off their headlamps and looked at the scene over the boulders. The creatures were definitely starting to stir. A few of them looked like they were making their way over their fellows toward the entrance. 

"We need to throw these as far as possible toward the other side of the cavern," Burt told her. "Think you can do that?" She nodded. "Try to get as close to the wall as you can. Throw it then run like hell toward the entrance. I want to set two more charges before we get out of here." 

"Are these going to blow up when they hit?" 

Burt half nodded and half shook his head. "The C-4 is stable, but the detonators can be sensitive. If they hit just right, we could be in trouble." 

Kylie stared at him. 

"Throw and run," he repeated. "Ready?" 

Kylie shook her head. "Yes." She got ready to throw. 

"I'll take the left, you take the right. On three. One...two..._three_!" 

Kylie felt Burt throw as she wound back and lobbed her own explosive into the cavern. She ran into the darkness, in too much of a hurry to fumble for her headlamp. She followed Burt's bobbing light, trusting him to warn her of any obstacles. 

Burt skidded to a stop around the next bend in the cave and Kylie ran into him, nearly knocking him down. He caught and steadied her, but didn't pause long. Once she stood on her own, Burt reached behind her and got another block of C-4 from the backpack while she turned on her headlamp by feel. He tore it in two and handed her half, then gave her a detonator. "Pack the C-4 into a crack near the floor," he instructed, "then insert a detonator." 

Kylie nodded and turned, already looking for a likely crevice, when Burt took her arm. 

"_Gently_ insert the detonator," he clarified, "_after_ the C-4 is in the crack." 

Kylie nodded again. "Got it." She turned and knelt, pressing the explosive gingerly into the hole she found. "Thanks Burt," she muttered. "I wasn't scared until you said that..." When the C-4 was as far into the hole as she could get it, she took the detonator, made a quick request of her Goddess, and set the detonator against it. She closed her eyes and slid it in. Then let out the breath she hadn't been aware of holding when she didn't blow up. 

She stood and half turned just as Burt skidded into her. "Shhh!" he hissed, flicking off her headlamp. He herded her quietly around the corner and took his rifle from her. 

That's when Kylie heard them. The rustling that signified the caterpillar's progress through the cave. The creepy rippling squeal an undertone to their movement. They were returning and she and Burt didn't have a handy alcove to hide in this time. She stood close behind Burt and wrapped an arm around his waist, burying her face in his back. His hand came up to pat hers reassuringly then rested there while they waited, hardly daring to breathe, for the caterpillars to pass. 

There couldn't have been more than two or three of them, by the sound they made. They were nearly past their position when something in the sound of their progress... changed. 

Suddenly Burt's hand patted hers urgently and he broke away from her. She saw the muzzle flash as his rifle took out the first one. She flipped on her light in time to see the second creature climb over the one Burt had killed and scramble toward them. She plastered herself against the cave wall when the second one started spitting before Burt could kill it. 

As suddenly as it began, the cave was silent again, save for the fitful struggles of one of the dying creatures. 

Burt thrust his rifle at her. "Reload!" He took her M-16 and hurried toward the entrance. 

Kylie trudged after him, reloading his rifle as she walked, alert for any more telltale shuffling. The ones in the back had to have heard Burt's shots. They'd be coming all too soon. 

Once they reached the entrance chamber, Burt pulled something from the backpack and hung it over Kylie's neck. "This is the radio detonator," he explained. "Flip these up," he pointed to the two covers, "and flip the two switches underneath simultaneously." He held her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Think you can do that?" 

She nodded, reaching for the two covers. 

He pulled the radio detonator out of her hands. "_After_ we get out of the cave." 

"Heh." She gave him a weak smile. 

"I want you to go wait on the hill and keep watch while I finish up," he said, pulling the flamethrower's nozzle from the tank at his back. 

"Why don't we just toss a few more bombs around?" Kylie asked. 

"I'm not sure we'll get all the eggs that way," Burt explained. He turned and started flaming the eggs and Kylie started for the entrance. 

She didn't get far before a shadow darkened the cave. "Burt!" she screamed over the roar of the flamethrower. 

He turned, but didn't stop flaming. "Shoot it!" He started backing toward her, flaming the walls as he went. 

She fired, dodging the caterpillar's green spit, then detoured around its body for the opening. She paused, snaking a look around before going out into the fading light. 

Her caution proved necessary as two more of the caterpillars approached the cave, both carrying dead sheep. "Burt! They're coming!" she shouted, and opened fire on the two nearing the cave. 

Burt was having problems of his own. The caterpillars from inside the cave were leaving and they'd finally reached his position. He turned from the eggs and used the flamethrowers on them. One reared back and shot the green slime at him. He staggered back, but some sprayed into his leg. The burning started immediately. He pointed the flamethrower's nozzle into the creature's face, engulfing the creature in fire. 

He turned and staggered toward Kylie, ripping the pack at his waist off and swabbing off as much of the green slime off as he could. He paused, briefly, to shoot a wall of flame at the clump of eggs nearest the opening. 

Then Kylie was at his side. "We've got to go!" she shouted. "_Now!_ There's more coming." 

"My leg," Burt grunted out, turning off the flamethrower and hooking the nozzle to the tank. He reached into Kylie's backpack while she bent to examine his leg and got the last of the C-4 out. He molded it into the nearest wall and plunged the last detonator into it. "Let's go." He took his rifle from Kylie after she reloaded it and fired at the caterpillar coming through the entrance. It wavered and reared back, then fell over the other caterpillar across the opening, dead. 

Using the bodies for cover, they scanned the area. There were three more coming, carrying animals. "I think we can make it," Burt shouted, and started running. 

Or tried. His leg was on fire. He saw the slime had eaten away at his pants, revealing the angry red skin underneath. 

Kylie ducked under his arm and took some of his weight. He switched his rifle to the other hand and tucked the stock underneath his arm. It would have to do. He clutched Kylie's shoulder and they ran, awkwardly, Kylie doing her best to support him as they went. The three incoming caterpillars didn't seem to notice them and kept heading toward the cave. Kylie lifted her rifle. 

"No!" Burt hissed. "Let them get in the cave--the explosives will take care of them!" 

Staggering up the hill toward the power wagon, Burt kept watch over his shoulder. He stopped and sank to the ground at the top of the hill, taking Kylie with him. He waited for the three to climb over the bodies of their fellows and enter the cave. "Now!" he shouted. "The radio detonator!" 

Kylie grabbed the box around her neck and flipped up the two covers. After one quick glance to Burt, who nodded, she flipped both switches. 

Immediately, they heard a great rolling boom from inside the cave and the sky above them was filled with debris. Burt threw himself down but watched Kylie fly back from the blast. He crawled to her and covered her, shielding her from falling rock and body parts. 

When the torrent slackened, Burt struggled to his knees, rifle at the ready, searching for any caterpillars trying to escape the cave. Fire from the explosion lit the approaching darkness. 

Suddenly Burt heard a loud thrumming noise over the crackling of the flames. He started to turn his rifle, but it was too late. It was on him. 

A huge moth, almost as tall as he was, took him from the side. He was on the ground, struggling, trying to hold it off, using the rifle. Both wings and feet beat against him, attempting to hold him and keep him from escaping. It had a long, tube-like proboscis, just as the caterpillars did, and extended it toward him, trying for his face. Burt twisted his face to one side, then the other, but it was a loosing battle. The thing was just too _fast_ to avoid. The tube smashed him in the face, breaking the skin, but Burt thrashed to the side, breaking free. Then it got its two foreclaws around his head, and Burt saw it rear back for the strike. 

There was loud report and the moth jerked. Another, and it crumpled, wings still half-heartedly beating the air. Burt scrambled away as it fell, in time to catch sight of Kylie just lowering the rifle from her shoulder. She was pale and wide-eyed. He crawled toward her as she started to sway. 

Kylie sank to the ground and clambered toward Burt, kneeling next to him, then pulling one leg into his lap as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. They clung tightly to each other as they both stared at the moth, gasping. 

Kylie turned to Burt, opening her mouth twice before she could finally speak. "I'll never be able to watch Mothra again..." 

END


End file.
